1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to the field of manual transmissions for motor vehicles and more particularly pertains to the gear selector mechanism for such transmissions.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The selector return guide for a multiple speed automotive transmission is known from German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2935590. The device described in that application includes a selector shaft, which is rotatably mounted for preselecting the shift rails and axially displaceable for engaging the gear. The lever member is rotatably fixed to the selector shaft and cooperates with the free legs of a spring secured to the transmission casing to guide the selector shaft back to its neutral position.
This selector shaft return guide has the disadvantage in that it requires a separate ball catch arrangement to distinguish the selector gear shift rails by determining the different efforts required to preselect the various gears.
The selector shaft return guide for a multiple speed transmission for motorcycles is known from German Patent No. 710699. The device described in that patent includes a selector shaft, rotatably mounted for engaging the gears and rotatably fixed to a lever member, which cooperates with a spring and holding member, displaceable relative to the selector shaft but held in a nonrotatable manner on the transmission casing, to guide the selector shaft back to a neutral position. The selector shaft return guide described in the patent does not guide the selector shaft into a neutral position from different gear shift channels; therefore, it cannot distinguish different gear shift channels by indicating varying levels of effort required.